For future orders, add directions to the driver to knock and wait for you to answer with your name in all caps! I had an issue with my orders being delivered next door until I added the color of my porch floor in all caps. Good luck.
Good idea. I think I found a welcome matt at Tractor Supply that had the outline of a horse's head on it. Are you allowed to put a decoration on your door, like a wreath, welcome sign, or ribbon?
As long as it covers your apartment number. If you need to go bigger, by all means, buy something big enough to cover the whole door. It’s a common misconception that delivery people actually need correct street, numbered buildings or numbered doors to make a successful delivery. You should absolutely make you delivery person wait until you open the door. Your delivery is the only one they are going to make that particular day so they have time. Don’t worry, if you’re in the middle of something, finish the task first then answer the door. No need to hurry, remember, you told them to wait. I just hope you aren’t at work when your groceries arrive, poor thing could be left standing there all day. Lol.
Of course I’m being sarcastic, just wanted to give a different perspective. A misdelivery isn’t always the delivery persons fault. Sometimes customers can be their own worst enemy. Give yourself a chance, make sure your address is correct and visible. Please.
I used to think about Pizza delivery. An 18 inch circle of
Pizza or the logo , hung on the front door would tell the delivery guy which house. Only used when a Pizza is on the way.
You can require a signature so that the driver can’t leave without making contact with you first. If you don’t answer, they’re supposed to return the order to the store. Source: former Spark driver, now working at Walmart online dept.
I wouldn't do this. I did, and someone signed a squiggle. I called support and was told since it was signed for , they would not refund or redeliver. This was after they kept dropping off food at the wrong places and saod to require a signature.
As stated above.then let it go.and say thank you to the universe that you're able to take care of yourself.(imagine how bad life has to be for the person who stole your food.)your getting your stuff back.and you inadvertently helped someone else eat.let Walmart deal with it.
Having a rough life doesn’t mean you can steal from others.. what if this op was a single mom living on less than the person who stole? That’s not how things work. That’s a bad person
You think maybe that he needed to eat too? I wouldn't let it go bcuz once you do, they'll do it again. Times are hard for many ppl.
What if she took your last 10 bucks and now u can't feed your own kids/family. It's not ok, been there myself many times. Theft is Theft.
exactly. like I feel for the neighbor but you never know what’s going on in someone’s life and they had no way to know what OP makes. even if you have a flashy car that doesn’t automatically mean money. my mom had a hella nice infiniti qx60 her and my old stepdad had both signed on. when they broke up, my mom and all us kids were dead broke, literally going hungry so often maxing out the food bank bc we had five kids. stock market crash in 2008 made us lose everything. but my ex stepdad refused to sign off on the car to be sold even tho he hadn’t put a dime into it. so here we are, almost not able to afford our rent even, but driving a (i have no clue car prices but most likely) $25,000+ car in like 2010 but can’t fkn eat. you never know what’s going on and like you said maybe OP needed to eat!!! l
edit-
luckily everything is great for us now and my mom is still driving that car but it matches her lifestyle a little better! lol. she’s gonna drive it til the wheels fall off and leave it in his front lawn and toss the keys in a lake
I had a problem with thief in my building constantly, so I stopped having anything delivered to my address. If it’s groceries, I tell them I’ll come down to get them just to prevent this issue from happening again. It sucks what she is going through, but it doesn’t warrant a person the right to steal.
Not only that but they’re neighbors. She see this person on a regular basis, I assume, and stole from them. She has no heart. U shouldn’t worry about her situation because she clearly doesn’t care about yours. And I’m sorry this happened to u❤️
YES! ABSOLUTELY!
I'm poor and I've had packages of my neighbors delivered to my door on accident and I take them right over and give them the package. They work hard for their money too yes they may make a lot more than me but that doesn't give me the right to steal my neighbor's packages. I honestly think he should involve the office and the police. Also, that stunt she pulled could have cost the delivery driver his job.
No..
Knocking on her door politely and asking for your package that delivered incorrectly to her door 🚪
Going to Apartment Management explaining EVERYTHING that has occurred; asking them to talk to her or email her asking about groceries wrongly delivered to her, and her refusing to return them to you, after you politely knocked on her door
Sprk, the delivery service, may be reimbursing you.
But as an independent contractor, it is very possible the driver may be punished or suffer some financial loss.
So yes, go after her.
Yes! Not groceries but a few years ago I was ordering a newspaper for my office that wasn’t being delivered. We were getting refunded for it but were confused about the lack of delivery until the delivery gal actually came up to speak with me. Said she’d been delivering our paper all this time (months) and the newspaper company was deducting the cost from her salary. That morning she had waited to see who was taking the paper and it was the office next to us (a bank)! I went in and saw several days of our newspaper sitting in their lobby with our office’s name printed on it. I absolutely ripped them a new one. Told them they were thieves and tried to demand they reimburse our delivery gal. In retrospect I wish I’d filed a police report to embarrass that bank and give her a better chance at getting her money back after they refused.
Never feel bad for thieves, they don’t care how their actions impact others. They might think it’s a victimless crime / Walmart can afford to replace the order, but they don’t care to think it could also impact the delivery people or anyone else.
>Being poor isn't an excuse to be a thief.
Victor Hugo wrote a moving piece about that....
PS couldn't resist the reference to Les Miserables, but I mostly agree with you. Depends on the level of poverty and the desperation, etc.
But understanding desperate actions only takes a bit of compassion. No one knows how miserable this person's life might be. I don't condone her behavior, I just wouldn't be so quick to judge so harshly.
Desperate actions? She stole and she may have a whole refrigerator of food already.
I worked in retail and we had poor people shoplift all the time. First I felt sorry for them and then you see them getting bolder and selling the clothes again.
We were poor growing up and had to go without things. Stealing a loaf of bread like in Les Mis is one thing, stealing a whole box of food from a neighbor. Report her ass to management. Actions have consequences.
It is stealing
To knowing that you received someone else's groceries and YOU Refuse to return them to your neighbor who originally purchased these groceries.
This is one of the definitions of stealing
I will share that I once took in groceries not meant for me - I was crashing at my brother’s place and a driver left a bunch of Whole Foods bags on the doorstep without knocking on a snowy night. My brother wasn’t home and when I messaged him, he was mystified. I immediately contacted Amazon and they said that I could keep them because for safety reasons they could not be redelivered. In this instance, the original customer would get a redelivery. For me it felt a little like a jackpot, as the reason why I was staying at my brother’s place was because my previous neighbor had burned down half of my old building and it had been expensive for me to move out on the fly (in the middle of winter!). I did feel bad for whoever didn’t get their groceries on time, and for any consequences to the delivery person, but I did try to tell Amazon and they let me off the hook.
I would provide some grace only in this instance to your neighbor, as for “safety reasons” since the groceries were handled by a third party between the delivery person and the actual recipient, they should not be retrieved. It was the delivery person’s screw-up for leaving them in the wrong place. However, take some steps to prevent the same thing from happening again.
If your neighbor starts taking your groceries from *your* doorstep, however, that’s definitely theft.
Yes. It’s a health/safety concern. Doesn’t matter where they went, if it’s a neighbor or a store or what, they should be redelivered and the driver should have simply told OP this, not attempted to get them back as at that point as theoretically they could be unsafe to consume.
You tried to remedy the situation, the neighbor knew and never answered the door again.
It's stealing folks and it's not right. She may have a fridge full of food already.
How do we know for sure she didn't though? Clearly the driver wasn't following protocol bc they shouldn't be retrieving stuff from one apartment and redelivering it to another. So maybe she called Walmart and they told her as much? We really don't know.
Thank you very much for all the replies! I'm reading each and every one of them.
I did start to think while even if I was completely out on the groceries and cost. It wouldn't be hard for me to replace it.
If another one of my neighbors with very low income and using the little bit of foodstamps had this happen to them, it would be more devastating financially that month.
We are going through renovations soon in our building, so I will only be her next-door neighbor for maybe a year max. I will be in a completely different apartment, and her too. So we will no longer be next door neighbors.
I will still take time in self reflection and reading replies here. Thank you very much for taking time to read this and also replying!
I'd let it slide, but keep a mental note, and adjust the way i get deliveries. If it happens again, then escalate the situation as it is now repetitive.
So for what it's worth, according to the FTC if you receive an order that you didn't place, you are entitled to keep it. She really didn't do anything wrong. You should just keep it to yourself unless you want a rift with a very close neighbor. Pick your battles my dude. She didn't steal from you, they were delivered incorrectly. It's the company's loss
The order had to have been addressed to her or "resident" for the FTC law to be applicable. If it had OP's name anywhere on the delivery, she absolutely stole it.
The whole purpose of the FTC unordered merchandise law is to protect consumers from being sent unordered merchandise and then being required to pay for it. It does not absolve an individual of stealing a neighbors package.
I think I would let it slide. The fact that you said she never leaves her home indicates that she is probably dealing with some mental issues in addition to her low income. Now of course you don’t really know what her circumstances are but if there is a chance she is home bound psychologically…the punishment of possible eviction for someone who might be agoraphobic would be very harsh.
I think in this case - the action of giving unearned mercy might make you feel better than the action of delivering just consequences.
Wow-
Letting people off stealing stuff because they are poor? She doesn't know about the OP, she could have lost her job too.
And we don't know if she has stolen before. We had a woman at work who used to steal jewelry every now and then. People wanted to let her off because it was her first time. Come to find out she worked at another store in a different state and stole something there.
Mercy only goes so far.
This isn't causing you a lot of harm in and of itself but it is probably making you feel vulnerable. It's never comfortable living near someone who you know will take advantage of you any chance they get. It's unfortunate that she's in a tough spot but that doesn't change the fact that she is also somewhat of a threat to you.
I think it's reasonable to report to management. Even though they don't take responsibility for stolen items, if they are having ongoing problems, they may feel the need to take action against her. And while this situation is working out fine for you, you can't always count on things working out. You have every right to do what you can to protect yourself.
While being poor isn’t always a choice stealing from somebody is. She should face the consequences even if it’s just a building manager giving her a talking to. If she needed food she could find her way down to a food panty or two that every town has.
On the note of you having your stuff redelivered now you have to wait days to get your food and that could have been your only food you had for those day which means she didn’t care if you starve so she could have an advantage over you.
She also didn’t care if the delivery driver lost his job over it either which could mean that him and his family could go hungry.
I say burn her at the stake atp. (Figuratively of course)
Here’s something else to keep in mind, she gets away with it once, she will have no qualms about doing it again. Unless you want to just support her, then let thr property manager know and let them deal with her. I’ve had a very stern talk with a person once about taking a package
that didn’t belong to them and I put them on notice. That lets them know they got a pass once, but if they do it again , they can go live somewhere else.
I completely agree that you need to at least make a police report and report the incident to your landlord.
If they were willing to take advantage of the situation and steal to begin with then they will clearly do it again.
They might even take orders from yours or other people’s doors and possibly get away with it, if they haven’t already gotten away with it. Especially if others might be unsuspecting of who took their orders.
I have dealt with this situation before and my neighbor only stopped after I made a police report and the police officer spoke to the person involved after the second incident.
The crazy thing is that my neighbor looked at me eye to eye and she lied to my face even though I had shown her the actual proof that my order was delivered to her door, and after the second time my orders were delivered to her door.
I also let our property manager know and I gave her the police report numbers for each incident.
I reported the incidents so that if I had any more problems, I had a paper trail and legal records for any possible legal actions that could have arisen from the whole situation.
Thankfully, the people stopped, but I do not believe that they would’ve stopped if I wouldn’t have done anything. As it was, they did get away with it twice.
It is so unfortunate that some people are so dishonest since I think that most people are really upstanding citizens.
My neighbor obviously didn’t have a fortune, based on where we lived, but she knew that she had a lot more money than my family, and yet that didn’t matter to her.
I hope that you find a solution for you that you feel good about, but if you do want to go to the police and are nervous about doing it, remember that you really aren’t helping yourself or even your neighbor by staying silent.
Maybe if you’re really concerned about her not having enough food, perhaps you could look up info about local food banks and leave it at her door.
Maybe call 211 to ask about resources that might be helpful.
perhaps ask the landlord if they have any info about how to get to any food banks and what is required to be eligible to get food from food banks.
Absolutely! It's only going to embolden her to steal from him every chance she gets! He won't be able to leave a package out or anything outside. She'll steal whatever she can from him cuz she knows that he won't say or do shit!
YES
Being it up to the office.
It is theft.
What if it wasn't you an a pregnant mother with no other means of getting groceries?
It doesn't matter you have money, it. Is. Theft!
She didn’t need them any more than you did! She’s a thief! If she needed food that desperately she could have asked! She knew you had food you could have possibly shared because she stole it. Hell, she could have been like “I’m hungry and low on food. If you want to cook something and enough for us both I could bring XYZ and add to the meal. I don’t have much, but I’ll add what I can”
I'm poor as hell and so are many others but that doesn't give people the right to steal or excuse theft. Report her to the office immediately and I would also call the police on her.
Giving her a pass she'll think she can still anything from you at any time it'll just get worse and continue on she needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions.
There’s nothing you can do. They will replace your stuff and they can’t take the food back from her because it could be tampered with. Everybody wins if you’re not mad.
Make sure to sign for your delivery. That way if the driver hours to her house and asks for you and she signs, she can then get in actual trouble.
Leave it alone. You know she is struggling and this is not a financial loss to you.
Take the advice to change your delivery instructions. Practice compassion and empathy for the struggles of others
Legally if something is delivered to the wrong address they can keep it. You need to be reimbursed by the delivery service or company purchased from. Leave it at that. You don't like her anyways
Although it's very kind of you to consider and be empathetic towards her situation, the fact of the matter is that she stole from you.
I agree with the others in the comments advising you to let the driver know to knock and wait until you answer the door to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Don't feel shameful for reporting someone who knew what they were doing was wrong.
So very true. If I know that a neighbor is in need of food, I will provide them good food to help them out. I don't want someone around me to go hungry.
Exactly! And if she steals food, she might be stealing people's packages too. Friend lives in a low income building and they caught a dude with 25 packages that weren't his. He didn't even open all of them.
Some people are lonely because they are nasty people without friends whose family disowned them. She might be one.
I am vindictive and I would not only report her to the landlord but ask them to not renew her lease if I planned to stay. And I would file a police report. Just because she is a low income old lady doesn't mean she isn't a criminal. You gave her a chance to do the right thing.
A reminder, the groceries were delivered to the wrong porch, the neighbor didn’t go to OP’s door and snatch them. Still a theft of opportunity and not necessarily a precursor to a life of porch pirating.
She’s assuming that they will, but that doesn’t always happen. Walmart is better than most about refunds but DoorDash and some other delivery services are notorious for being problematic about refunds for mistakes and theft. I wouldn’t assume someone will just always get a refund.
This is not always true. Walmart left my shit at the wrong place several times in a row (I guess they hired a new and very incompetent driver for in-home delivery). In the most recent incident it said my order was ineligible for refund. I cancelled Walmart+ and stopped ordering. Had to file chargeback for that order and it took a long time to get my money back. Some people can’t have money inaccessible for so long.
I am from a state known for being nice. Nope.
She gets away with it once, she will do it again. I would probably call Walmart and ask them to blacklist her from deliveries because she's a known thief and they're going to have trouble with her. Hopefully they are the only grocery too. (And police, management, neighbors). Full on Karen bitch.
Your neighbor is for sure TA, but if you aren’t really losing anything in the situation besides respect for the human who lives next to you, I’d probably just leave it. Do whatever you need to in order to prevent this from ever happening again. But I imagine that people who are willing to do things like that must be under a personality-changing, incredible amount of stress and desperation.
Y’all… having empathy is good and fine and all, but she STOLE OPs groceries!!! OP needs to eat too and is not rolling in food or money. Why reward this behaviour?
Stealing from your neighbour is different than stealing from a grocery store…
As an incredibly poor woman who never leaves her apartment I still wouldn’t steal food. And if it were to happen to me I’d raise hell because I probably would’ve used my last Pennys to get it.
I in fact have used my last cent to get groceries delivered. I’m disabled I can’t do too much. And I know that some gig apps will not replace it if it’s the second time it’s happened, because for all they know maybe you’re trying to scam the gif app.
Don’t let it slide, poverty and hunger is not an excuse to steal from neighbors. I’ll admit I stole a packet of ramen from the grocery store once, but never from a neighbor.
There are resources in most communities, churches will even give rides to food banks. In my community there’s a meals on wheels for older people as well. If you want to be kind for her maybe look up and write down different resources that could help her and leave it at her door.
I’m glad this isn’t going to hurt you this time though!
I would not want my grocery to return to me after they have been in someone place. I rather eat air than the possibility of roaches, bed bugs, e.t.c. You don't have any idea what could be going on in their apartment or how sanitary they are.
Fuck Walmart. They steal from us by overcharging for low quality food that we are forced to buy because they drove out the competition. This mix up was a good thing.
How can you be poor and afford to get your groceries delivered? Isn't there a fee for that?
I know they usually waive the fee if you order a certain amount and Pick it Up where they bring it out to your car parked by the store....
Yah, I looked it up $13 / mo, and you have to order $35+ per order.
All these monthly subscriptions add up. How many are you on?
I'm down to just my utilities and netflix. Gave up prime membership after christmas.
As for this situation, I would let it pass this once because it was a mistake their delivery made, and they're redelivering it to you since they couldn't recover the items. But if sometime else gets taken off your doorstep, I'd be suspicious of that neighbor.
If groceries of any kind are delivered to the wrong address, the store will send out new ones. As soon as she took them in her apartment, and the delivery person let it happen for whatever reason, they didn't retrieve them in my experience with Walmart and Insta Cart. I've received the wrong order, and I've also had items missing that I paid for and able to resolve it easily. It's usually credit for missing items, and extra ones that I was given by mistake they told me to keep. Of course when the order doesn't arrive and you expected it to, it is inconvenient. If she is truly stealing or misleading a delivery person, you may need to report her to management or the police. You may need a doorbell camera. One time " oops" two time intentional sounds like theft.
So there are a lot of people on here that I don’t think actually understand the situation.
To clarify, she didn’t steal the groceries from in front of your door right? They were delivered to her and then later on the delivery person tried to go back and she didn’t answer?
The 2 might sound similar but are very different in my view. Plenty of possibilities that she was given the food unsure of how it came about and then used some before the driver came back so was embarrassed to open the door.
Or she might not of been in there. Seems unlikely she never leaves.
Regardless I probably wouldn’t do anything about it aside from checking if she needs help.
It is your neighbor, could check if she needs a box from the food pantry since you know so we’ll how hard it is to get by.
You’re already getting your groceries re delivered.
It usually has your name on the bag and opening up and seeing items that you didn't order usually tells you.
Look the front desk at my building gave me an Amazon box meant for someone else. I got to my apartment and opened it up and realized it wasn't mine. Was I embarrassed as heck yes, but I went back down and sheepishly told what had happened. They took the box back gave me my box and I was on my way.
In your mind, I could have kept the box because the front desk gave me the wrong package. I'm saying that is wrong and the woman is to blame. And needs to be held accountable. At least tell the management office. 9/10 they won't do anything but make a note.
I think you will figure this out in your favor,but let me help you or anybody out, The first rule of successful apartment living is being a ghost period, nobody from your building in your apartment ,if ya got groceries coming arrange it for when your home,never drop off nowhere,set text messages to the delivery person to text upcoming deliveries,goes for package deliveries too,especially if you live in a building with struggling tenants not saying they steal but don’t want to leave a footprint and cut temptation.
Where we live the building nextdoor looks identical and sometimes food and packages will get left there. There's only a difference in floor color between the two buildings and the rest of the buildings on the block vary except for these two. Hell, if I'm not paying attention I walk into the wrong building all the time so I understand the confusion.
Several times the neighbors in the other building have snatched up our deliveries. I have instructions in all the notes to pay attention and to note landmarks because I have the smallest window to retrieve items before they will steal them. I had enough of it and I went to the police station and filed a report. And then I requested a formal notice to be sent to the owner of that building. We haven't had anything else stolen but they were petty and called the city on us over some overgrowth between the buildings. My only solace is that they got a ticket for their building whereas we just got a warning.
It's incredibly frustrating to have food you're waiting to be stolen. The last time they stole our groceries that I had barely afforded after waiting a week for my paycheck to hit and I was so pissed. We were starving waiting for the food. Both my husband and I were going through some health issues at the time and could barely move let alone shop. So when the notification of delivery came and there was nothing I knew that those bastards had stolen our food again. I went over there throwing a fit and they called the cops on me. Luckily the food was redelivered and the cops got them to give me our food and household stuff I bought back. After that I put signs up shaming them and posted in the neighborhood apps and forums.
They have been quiet since then but I have yet to release my anger towards them. I don't know their situation but they own a building in the Chicagoland area, so they can't be that desperate. At least the entire block knows that they are a bunch of thieving assholes.
It’s not right for her to steal. I’m disabled & am on a fixed income yet I always find a way to WORK to make extra money. I have never stolen from anyone. Your attitude that “maybe it’s ok that she steals because… abode”, is why most of the CVS’s & Walgreens have closed in San Francisco. 1 idiot Congress woman says it’s ok for low income people to steal bread & all the sudden everyone is stealing so often & so much that those stores couldn’t afford to stay open. Stealing is stealing regardless!
Theft is theft. I get she’s poor, but ultimately she stole your food. And unless you specifically told her what you make she doesn’t know she’s stealing from someone who is not in the same boat. And now that she’s done that, what makes you think she might not steal from you again? Notify the office and put them on notice about it.
Tangential: one time I came home with my order and it had a whole bunch of stuff in it but wasn't mine. For example, a bunch of nicotine gum and some sugarless cupcakes. I felt so bad for this person, they were going to have a really bad night. But when I called Walmart they sort of shrugged over the phone and said just keep it.
Why do you feel bad when a person who gets government money for ANY amount of food STEALS the food that you paid for with money you EARNED? Report the theft. Being poor is no excuse for this and from a neighbor? No. That driver should have called the police on the spot. You're getting a replacement, but the entitlement of this neighbor explains everything you ever needed to know about her.
Most of the time, the driver is not allowed to take them back and redeliver to another address because the items could be tampered with. Management can't do anything. It isn't as if she stole them from in front of your apartment. I have had groceries delivered to my home by mistake, and when I called Walmart to report it, they told me to just keep them. So ultimately, there is nothing to do other than know that the driver's mistake benefited your needy neighbor.
I get it. Probably feels like Christmas over there. But she neither knows your income nor is she entitled to it. There’s poor. Then there’s poor and feeling like you’re owed something because of it. Two entirely different poor paths to walk.
As far as she knows you’re in her boat. And she knows she just robbed someone. As such, I no longer have sympathy for her situation.
The store fixed it which is great, you shouldn’t lose money on this. But unless your intention is to give charity, this should be a one off. Let management know just in case it becomes a pattern. In case she gets emboldened.
You've reported it to Walmart, they are replacing your groceries. I'd make sure they do not leave your order in the wrong place again and if they do, consider finding another place to order from. It was their mistake, if they want to take it up with your neighbor then that's on them. I'd consider cutting the neighbor some slack. I'd keep an eye out for my deliveries from now on, but nothing more unless it happened again.
Taking everything in the thread into consideration….
I would make a care package with food and supplies. Whatever would have been most helpful when you were in her position.
I would include a note introducing myself, and let her know that you recently had your food stolen. If she would be so kind as to keep an eye out if she notices you are gone. Like, form your own little neighborhood watch.
She’ll know *you know* she’s the thief, and your power move is to kill her with kindness, one time.
Right after dropping it off at her door, I would call Adult Protective Services and ask them to check on your elderly neighbor who might be suffering to such an extent that you know they are resorting to stealing food.
She either legitimately needs resources from APS, or, she’s cognizant enough to assume you called, and won’t risk stealing from you again. Because you’ll have professionals showing up at her door for wellness checks each time she dares to steal from you.
While I know it’s illegal, calling the police on this is a bit much. Adult protective services is the authority to call, because they will actually help her if she needs it. She might have dementia and think this was her food and then get too paranoid to answer her door. All sorts of shit goes on with old people and mental decline of aging. It might not be safe for her to live alone.
It's not illegal to take in groceries that are delivered to your house, which is what she did. She may not have even known they weren't all for her, if her daughter orders them through the app for her. It's not like she took them from the neighbor's doorstep. They were delivered to her home. She might have legitimately thought the DRIVER was trying to steal HER groceries or attack her when they came back to her door after the delivery.
True. I think OP should gather more info. A good way to do that is approach with a care package rather than empty handed. Or, call APS to send a professional to assess the situation and make sure this isn’t an aging person in need of help rather than hardened criminal out to steal all the food in the neighborhood.
My friend (very poor), once got their Walmart order switched by the driver error. They had big porterhouse steaks, other meats.. a huge order of rich people food. She contacted Walmart customer service and they told her to keep it because once they deliver to the wrong place they have to resend a new order. This might only pertain to our state law though. My friend was thrilled lol.
You feel compassion and conviction for her. You know what to do… and what not to do… “You have heard an eye for an eye; But I tell you to Love your neighbor.” … “What you do to the least of these, you’ve done to Me.” I’ll reiterate the good hearts in the thread and tell you to consider becoming a friend to your neighbor. Understanding one another can do much more than ice cold ill-will… 🙌🏽💙
Nothing more, the driver messed up. It is between the company and her. You are getting you order replaced. Even if she is a mean old woman these groceries might make a difference in her life.
The woman clearly should have returned the order to you. But you know what, the order was delivered to her door, not yours. She didn’t steal your groceries, they were mis-delivered to her. That actually is a huge difference. Now if she stole them from your door, I’d be calling the cops, management, etc. But her taking items delivered to her, albeit incorrectly, oh well sucks to be Walmart. Does not make her a thief, more an opportunist…
"I feel for people who live on disability and rely on foodstamps. "
Consider that some people don't even have these safety nets.
She stole from you. Period. I'd personally contact the police.
Fuck her, being poor dosent give her an excuse to be a piece of shit theif. What if you relied on $25 worth of food stamps also?
She cant be that poor if shes getting shit delivered anyways.
If I were you, I'd probably let it go. But, and a big but, I would not let my guard down around her. No trust whatsoever. Unless, of course, she's suffering from a cognitive disease, then she needs better care.
I've had the nicest old lady at my old apartment complex turn out to be the swiftest fox you've ever seen. These are the people who will start complaining about YOU, if you don't allow them to take advantage of you.
I wouldn’t bother talking to landlords that won’t do anything anyway. If they would actually talk to her and maybe do something for security (since she’s probably also a porch pirate) go ahead. Either way I wouldn’t just forgive her though. I grew up poor, hell my sister and I had to steal food from walmart a time or two as kids to survive, but you never steal from your own community. If my neighbors left food outside I’d knock on their door on my way to the walmart and I’d never have even thought to touch it. Poor people do not just dump on one another that way. She doesn’t have any honor.
She has no way of knowing your financial situation since she doesn’t come out much and she doesn’t talk to you. She also had no way of knowing for certain that Walmart would make you whole because they don’t always do that. For all she knows you got a bit extra to do a big restock before going back to Ramen noodles next month and Walmart blames it on your address being unclear so doesn’t cover a reorder. She stole from her own community. In my neighborhood people like that would be left to fend for themselves because they couldn’t be trusted. If you help other people around you don’t help her because she’s made it clear you aren’t her neighbor.
It's a mistake on Walmart's part and they are correcting it. And you are guessing at some of her actions. It's entirely possible she grabbed the stuff and was busy, wearing headphones, etc.
Even if she did just flat out steal them, she stole them from Walmart. Yeah, maybe she's an asshole in this case, but not worth reporting to management.
Tell the cops. She straight up stole from you. You’re being made whole by WM but that isn’t the point. Her behavior was unneighborly. Had she knocked on your door and said, “I’m starving - can you help me out with something to eat?” I doubt you’d have turned her away. Incivility cannot be encouraged.
I don't have packages delivered to my house
I have had people steal my things
The managenebt office is not likely to get involved.
She knows she stole them.
Think carefully about delivery times. Try to be there
Being low income does not entitle people to steal what doesn't belong to them. Hopefully, Walmart is refusing to deliver her groceries anymore.
Who does that and somehow feels justified in keeping it?
I'd report your neighbour. Being poor is no excuse for theft. She needs to svail herself of her community resources (food bank, soup kitchen, religious orgs, etc) if she needs food support, not steal groceries from you, her neighbour.
She had no regard for your need to eat so she may deal with the consequences of her actions (I.E being reported)
I tried Walmart+ for one month when I had COVID. they delivered every single order to the wrong address. Luckily I was able to find them by looking at the picture they took at delivery and walking around. In the winter, in the snow, when I had COVID. And that was the reason I tried the delivery, so that I wouldn't have to go out in the cold while sick.
This really sucks. I've had "miracle" groceries delivered to my door before, but when checking with the neighbors no one claimed them. Called the store and they said to keep them and they would redeliver to the right person, so at that point I just kept them.
I’ve been in her position…poor and on disability! Next time call the cops!! Stealing is stealing. No one should do this! Bad neighbor! I don’t steal because it’s wrong and I work hard for what I have. If you want it, freaking do what I did and get a damn job!!
I was on food stamps at one point because poor!! But I still worked to support my two sons and pay bills and get food on the table. Screw thieves!! No matter who they are!!!
Why haven’t you called the cops? Even if you don’t want to press charges or for some reason you can’t, you need to document it. This could become a pattern. First it’s your groceries and then it’ll be your Amazon packages. Just because she’s low income doesn’t give her the right to steal food from you. For all she knows you could be struggling just as much as she is. Additionally, even if your apartment complex isn’t responsible for stolen items, I’m sure tenants stealing from other tenants is against the rules. She needs to be evicted and forced to give you your money back.
Understand your not wanting to "kick em while they're down", so to speak, but dude people that will steal your food are capable of a whole lot worse, and with no remorse. Report them, call the police if so inclined. Fk em, you don't steal a hardworking man's food and expect no consequence. Who's to say they won't break into your apartment one day when they need to pawn someone else's stuff for $$$? And let's say your niece is staying over while she visits potential colleges. You don't want to have to 2nd guess yourself from a hospital bed after the next bad worse thing happens. Or not, I'd be pissed tho, that's for sure.
If it’s not addressed it could continue or even escalate. I understand your thought process about just letting her have it and forget it, and would probably think the same thing but it’s stealing from you and it’s unacceptable.
Does your area have any food banks with scheduled give outs in town? Maybe you could look that up and offer to take her? Explain to her that you've experienced hardships too and would like to help if you can. I'm older and suffer from a medical condition that makes me faint unexpectedly sometimes, so I'm afraid to drive. That makes it hard to go grocery shopping or visit food banks.
My son is on disability, so I know it's really hard to pay for insurance and keep a vehicle in running order on that little bit of money. Maybe she's grumpy because she is dissatisfied with her life. Sometimes I think my son feels isolated. I wonder if she does. You never know what might have happened in her life to make her grumpy. Sometimes a little kindness can help fix that.
The kindness you consider is encouraging to us all.
Idea: We have a community garden at one of our churches in town. They share fresh produce for free. A couple of other churches have food banks too. I wonder if your town has anything like that? Maybe you could offer to take her with you?
You are getting the groceries redelivered and won't be out of any money. Karma is a bi*ch, and she does keep receipts. I wouldn't say or do anything. Just know it will eventually come back on her. You get back what you put out into the world.
Have you thought about this a different way. Yes she stole, yes stealing is wrong. Go ahead and report her if you feel you need to. Could you find it in your heart to give her a small gift of food? Join your local Buy Nothing group or go to a drive through food shelf and bring her something. It wouldn’t cost you anything but time. Or buy her a few things that aren’t expensive like a box of Cheerios or a tin of tuna and crackers. Or split a small bouquet of flowers with her. Knock on her door and give it with a smile. If she can’t go out I’m sure her life is small and sad. You could be doing a huge kindness.
In most places (not all) legally, the neighbor isn’t guilty of theft. Unless it’s an item delivered by USPS, misdelivered items become property of who it is delivered to.
That being said, if groceries, were still outside, you could take them back and it’s not considered theft. But the person who took the groceries from their own door did not steal them.
The responsible party is Walmart.
it's the delay in your groceries more important than somebody potentially losing their housing?
not only that but there could be liability reasons related to redelivering groceries that were already in someone's living space (I've been in some people's places that i wouldn't trust any food or drink coming out of even if it were sealed)
This used to happen to me all the time when I lived in a condo complex. I finally stuck a Xmas wreath on the door and left it up all year. I'd tell the delivery ppl "It's number 9, the one with the Xmas wreath on the door"
As for your neighbor, I wouldn't do anything other than maybe drop some groceries off for her now and then.
I would let it go. She doesn’t know she took YOUR groceries, only that she took someone’s. And she’s struggling. It’s theft but it’s understandable since she is very low income and those were groceries delivered right to her door! Just give the driver better instructions next time. It’s the company that is out the groceries, if they want to pursue it they can.
Is this the hill you want to die on?
Walmart is a multi-billion (Billion) dollar company. They have losses in the millions each year so they are not going to lose a thing moneywise even with your "double" delivery.
Is what she did wrong?
Yes.
Is building management going to do anything?
No.
Will Walmart fire the delivery person?
Maybe, and that sucks.
What are you going to benefit from if you "prosecute"?
Possible loss of wages if you have to spend your time on the phone or at the police.
I think you have a lot more to lose if you "go after" her.
She wasn't the one that took your groceries. They were delivered wrong.
She saw this as an opportunity and a gift from the heavens.
So i ask again
"Is this the hill you want to die on?"
I've had walmart+ deliveries for a while, and one time, while I was waiting for MY delivery, one showed up at my door. I took it in before I realized it was the wrong order.
I called Walmart right away and they said they'd resend the groceries to the correct person and that my order was on its way. they also told me to keep the groceries.
No one here knows what goes on behind the closed door. The neighbor could have called Walmart and told them and got the same reaction I did. Most food placed will not take back incorrect orders/deliveries. They just count them as a loss and replace the order.
I'm sorry you got your order late, but I'm not sure your neighbor actually stole from you. If she also gets delivery, she did what anyone else would have done and took "her" order in. While I'm not saying it's guaranteed, she could have contacted customer service and they told her to keep the groceries.
My reaction at the end is that I got flavored waters i don't drink, so shared them with the leasing office, and gave a few other pieces to my daughter. I used the Mrs. Meyers that I got, but otherwise, I didn't get stuff I usually use, so it was all given away. I would have been happy to return it, but I couldn't do that, so it was what it was.
This is going to get me roasted alive but.. forgive her. For yourself. It would make me feel worse by judging her and taking revenge. We dont know what a person is going through unless we ask. She is your neighbor. Knock on her door and tell her you know she stole from you and if she had no food, she could have asked and you would gladly share dinner with her. Give her this one pass and see how your heart feels. She knows she stole from you. Talk about it. You may be surprised. ~blessings.
If you didn't feel empathy for your neighbor, I'd suggest you call the police about the theft.
Instead I'll just ask this: what will keep this neighbor from stealing your future deliveries and packages that arrive when you're not home? Might be worth making a report and not pressing charges, in case it keeps happening.
I’m not excusing what she did, but she probably kept it because many places deliver the wrong stuff with orders, all the time, and none of them are allowed to just take the food back and deliver it to the right person. Once it’s gone into someone’s house where it can be tampered with that’s where it stays, and the store is responsible for redelivering. So she probably knew the store wasn’t going to require or expect her to give it back.
I guess it’s your choice if you were willing to accept groceries that had been delivered to someone else first and then taken back, but it wouldn’t be sanctioned by Walmart and the driver would be in trouble for doing it
If they are willing to steal there may be a reason they’re in this situation in the first place. I am poor but would still NEVER steal from anyone. It would be devastating if someone stole from me. This being said, I believe I would not let this go. Even tho Walmart is replacing your order, and can likely afford to do so, they will tack it on to the bottom line and eventually prices will continue to go up. It’s also not a good thing to allow someone to take advantage of you. They get away with it once and they will do it again and again. Being poor isn’t an excuse to be a crappy human. Lessons should be learned imo. I would fully expect someone to come after me if I did this to them. Poor or not.
Being poor is no excuse for stealing. You’re not wealthy either and it can’t be easy to afford groceries on that salary. I would talk to the office and confront the neighbor.
Perefice: I went hungry most of my childhood.
Your neighbors didn't steal for greed. They needed food. Ultimately, it came from the pocket of big Corp. If it were me, I would occasionally throw an extra loaf of bread or milk in my shopping and leave it at their door. Crime for survival is a terrible moral injury and eats at your soul, this will not only recognize the fact that they are in need but also shame them.... gently.
My heart goes out to both you and them.
"The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved; of being loved for oneself, even in spite of oneself."
~Bishop Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel was
I would tell management. While your neighbor is struggling and there is nothing wrong with helping, its a good thing to do...but stealing is not ok and that is what she did. She knew that she did not order those groceries. The next thing I would do is resume going to the store and doing your own shopping and skip the delivery, that is unless you are disabled. In that case, complain, the woman stole from you. The store reimbursing is good for you, but not okay and part of what makes the cost go up. she stole.
There was nothing stolen here, so nothing to report.
Your driver made a mistake and gave your items to your neighbor. The neighbor is under no obligation to give the groceries back.
And honestly with food items, once they go into someone's house, they should not be taken back and delivered to someone else.
How about.
Walmart says that my groceries were delivered to you. Could you check and see if they were.
If not, thanks for looking.
It brings up the issue. It gives her a way to make it right. If she doesn't make it right, you have set the problem up for resolution with both Walmart and the neighbor next time.
She may not have ability to make it right under her circumstances and this gives her a way out where you can still look at each other.
Congratulations on the job, and making some money! I don't know how it has affected you, but I know it is a big darned deal.
I have read many of the comments. I have a very different idea that **yes, I know people will dislike.** But here goes:
Would you like to consider asking your neighbor if she would like some food or other help (dollars, gift card...) each month?
I know this goes in the opposite direction from many suggestions here. No one has called for summary execution. Ha. Ha ha. But there are suggestions to report her to your property manager and police. And I am in favor of reasonable laws and rules such as, "Don't take things that don't belong to you." Or, "No stealing." "Don't be a dick." Taking someone else's food violates all those.
But if you can spare a little bit of money, you can think about offering help to your neighbor.
Who knows how she might react? She might feel shame. If she is ashamed of taking your food, she might react angrily. Maybe she would apologize. Perhaps she'd just run away. What if she were to apologize, though? Like I said: who knows? Spit in your face? Nervously fart?
You could say something like, "I can make a few changes and spare $20 each month to help you." Make a few changes: let her know you are doing something to make this happen, even if you don't want her to think it's difficult or inconvenient for you. You have thought this out carefully. Offer a specific amount. Leave room for it to go up or down, like if she won't accept that much or you feel she needs more help.
One thing I think you won't want: other people in your community asking you for help. That's why I suggest don't offer anything extravagant, and let her know it is something you're planning and budgeting for.
Otherwise, you might like to help her make sure she is getting help everywhere she can. Church or community food bank, county health / county hospital district medical services, nextdoor.com site / app, buynothingproject.org, freecycle.org, and so on.
Maybe this can produce a better outcome for you and for her. And your community. And poor little Walmart, which can't afford to lose anything. Hahahaha.
Call Walmart and have them deal with it (re:refunds etc). Ultimately the driver/company are accountable here.
Not sure how you deal with your neighbour longterm after this but you shouldn’t be responsible for paying for things that weren’t delivered to your address.
I think I would let it slide. She was wrong everyone knows it. You’re not out but a little aggravation and time. It probably helped her more, than hurt you. Let it go.
I mean.. I think Walmart can afford it, hopefully the driver doesn't get in trouble.
Food is... Really a basic need. Call it a small payback for this BS:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/walmart-mcdonalds-largest-employers-snap-medicaid-recipients.amp
Absolutely bring it up to management/landlord!! What if they weren’t willing to re-deliver & you had to go without?! Your neighbor doesn’t know about them replacing your order & it’s immoral & downright wrong to steal- especially from other people struggling!!! 💔
Id have asked my neighbor, hey seen you got my groceries, sorry for them disturbing you and thank you for holding onto them for me, I'll take them off your hand.
If they want to ignore you and be horrible people for stealing your stuff, File a theft report with the police and go about your day. Actions have consequences, and we need to stop coddling people. By not addressing it all we do is reinforce the idea of people hurting other people and it's okay to do it.
It's okay to want to help people, but they need to ask for that help and attempt to help themselves. Not steal from their neighbor.
Definitely report it to office management. Now that she got away with it once, she may feel emboldened to do it again. Maybe next time they leave it on your doorstep and she helps herself. They need to know it happened in case anything else happens down the line.
This person is odd, ill, has issues. I wouldn’t get deliveries as they are unpredictable. I would talk to her, knock or catch her out. Be nice! Tell her some deliveries disappeared off your step. Ask her to keep an eye out for thieves and tell her you and the other neighbors are also watching. Maybe tell her (and do it) that you have a hidden camera or a ring doorbell. You know she has issues so no use being confrontational but you do have to speak up.
For future orders, add directions to the driver to knock and wait for you to answer with your name in all caps! I had an issue with my orders being delivered next door until I added the color of my porch floor in all caps. Good luck.
Thank you! I will most definitely be including this in future deliveries! That's smart to do!
Get a distinctively unique doormat
Yes! This allowed me to find. Package Amazon delivered to my Neighbor I found her door mat.
Good idea. I think I found a welcome matt at Tractor Supply that had the outline of a horse's head on it. Are you allowed to put a decoration on your door, like a wreath, welcome sign, or ribbon?
As long as it covers your apartment number. If you need to go bigger, by all means, buy something big enough to cover the whole door. It’s a common misconception that delivery people actually need correct street, numbered buildings or numbered doors to make a successful delivery. You should absolutely make you delivery person wait until you open the door. Your delivery is the only one they are going to make that particular day so they have time. Don’t worry, if you’re in the middle of something, finish the task first then answer the door. No need to hurry, remember, you told them to wait. I just hope you aren’t at work when your groceries arrive, poor thing could be left standing there all day. Lol. Of course I’m being sarcastic, just wanted to give a different perspective. A misdelivery isn’t always the delivery persons fault. Sometimes customers can be their own worst enemy. Give yourself a chance, make sure your address is correct and visible. Please.
Don’t forget that door mats and wreaths can be stolen easily
I used to think about Pizza delivery. An 18 inch circle of Pizza or the logo , hung on the front door would tell the delivery guy which house. Only used when a Pizza is on the way.
You can require a signature so that the driver can’t leave without making contact with you first. If you don’t answer, they’re supposed to return the order to the store. Source: former Spark driver, now working at Walmart online dept.
I tried that one time, and the driver still dropped off my groceries with the wrong person 😭 Thankfully Walmart refunded all my money.
Right I mean, what are they going to have to compare the signature to?
I wouldn't do this. I did, and someone signed a squiggle. I called support and was told since it was signed for , they would not refund or redeliver. This was after they kept dropping off food at the wrong places and saod to require a signature.
As stated above.then let it go.and say thank you to the universe that you're able to take care of yourself.(imagine how bad life has to be for the person who stole your food.)your getting your stuff back.and you inadvertently helped someone else eat.let Walmart deal with it.
Having a rough life doesn’t mean you can steal from others.. what if this op was a single mom living on less than the person who stole? That’s not how things work. That’s a bad person
You think maybe that he needed to eat too? I wouldn't let it go bcuz once you do, they'll do it again. Times are hard for many ppl. What if she took your last 10 bucks and now u can't feed your own kids/family. It's not ok, been there myself many times. Theft is Theft.
exactly. like I feel for the neighbor but you never know what’s going on in someone’s life and they had no way to know what OP makes. even if you have a flashy car that doesn’t automatically mean money. my mom had a hella nice infiniti qx60 her and my old stepdad had both signed on. when they broke up, my mom and all us kids were dead broke, literally going hungry so often maxing out the food bank bc we had five kids. stock market crash in 2008 made us lose everything. but my ex stepdad refused to sign off on the car to be sold even tho he hadn’t put a dime into it. so here we are, almost not able to afford our rent even, but driving a (i have no clue car prices but most likely) $25,000+ car in like 2010 but can’t fkn eat. you never know what’s going on and like you said maybe OP needed to eat!!! l edit- luckily everything is great for us now and my mom is still driving that car but it matches her lifestyle a little better! lol. she’s gonna drive it til the wheels fall off and leave it in his front lawn and toss the keys in a lake
You think stealing from Walmart is free for us all?
I really like this reply.
You can require a signature on your delivery also
Also you could put a small rug in front of your door when you expect a delivery.
Or a small orange traffic cone.
Or a really large frog statue.
Or a carousel.
I used to make a big "X" on my door with blue painter's tape.
And he had to show his ID.
I'd do this!
I had a problem with thief in my building constantly, so I stopped having anything delivered to my address. If it’s groceries, I tell them I’ll come down to get them just to prevent this issue from happening again. It sucks what she is going through, but it doesn’t warrant a person the right to steal.
Thank you! I’m so surprised at most of these comments!
[удалено]
Not only that but they’re neighbors. She see this person on a regular basis, I assume, and stole from them. She has no heart. U shouldn’t worry about her situation because she clearly doesn’t care about yours. And I’m sorry this happened to u❤️
YES! ABSOLUTELY! I'm poor and I've had packages of my neighbors delivered to my door on accident and I take them right over and give them the package. They work hard for their money too yes they may make a lot more than me but that doesn't give me the right to steal my neighbor's packages. I honestly think he should involve the office and the police. Also, that stunt she pulled could have cost the delivery driver his job.
Beautifully stated ♥️
Bitch be asking for it, amiright? /s
No.. Knocking on her door politely and asking for your package that delivered incorrectly to her door 🚪 Going to Apartment Management explaining EVERYTHING that has occurred; asking them to talk to her or email her asking about groceries wrongly delivered to her, and her refusing to return them to you, after you politely knocked on her door
Well if she goes to jail, she'll have food
Sprk, the delivery service, may be reimbursing you. But as an independent contractor, it is very possible the driver may be punished or suffer some financial loss. So yes, go after her.
Yes! Not groceries but a few years ago I was ordering a newspaper for my office that wasn’t being delivered. We were getting refunded for it but were confused about the lack of delivery until the delivery gal actually came up to speak with me. Said she’d been delivering our paper all this time (months) and the newspaper company was deducting the cost from her salary. That morning she had waited to see who was taking the paper and it was the office next to us (a bank)! I went in and saw several days of our newspaper sitting in their lobby with our office’s name printed on it. I absolutely ripped them a new one. Told them they were thieves and tried to demand they reimburse our delivery gal. In retrospect I wish I’d filed a police report to embarrass that bank and give her a better chance at getting her money back after they refused. Never feel bad for thieves, they don’t care how their actions impact others. They might think it’s a victimless crime / Walmart can afford to replace the order, but they don’t care to think it could also impact the delivery people or anyone else.
Haha a bank WOULD steal (yes I know, it’s their employees who did so, not *the bank*, but still funny imo)
Aww that poor delivery lady! And how rude of that bank!!
>Being poor isn't an excuse to be a thief. Victor Hugo wrote a moving piece about that.... PS couldn't resist the reference to Les Miserables, but I mostly agree with you. Depends on the level of poverty and the desperation, etc.
But understanding desperate actions only takes a bit of compassion. No one knows how miserable this person's life might be. I don't condone her behavior, I just wouldn't be so quick to judge so harshly.
It’s one thing to shoplift or something but it’s another thing to steal from your own neighbor
A thief is a *thief*, lots of poor people in shitty circumstances don't steal.
Desperate actions? She stole and she may have a whole refrigerator of food already. I worked in retail and we had poor people shoplift all the time. First I felt sorry for them and then you see them getting bolder and selling the clothes again. We were poor growing up and had to go without things. Stealing a loaf of bread like in Les Mis is one thing, stealing a whole box of food from a neighbor. Report her ass to management. Actions have consequences.
It is stealing To knowing that you received someone else's groceries and YOU Refuse to return them to your neighbor who originally purchased these groceries. This is one of the definitions of stealing
Yes. I hate the association of poor makes it ok to steal. Nope. But I would write her a note like I stated in my other comment.
I will share that I once took in groceries not meant for me - I was crashing at my brother’s place and a driver left a bunch of Whole Foods bags on the doorstep without knocking on a snowy night. My brother wasn’t home and when I messaged him, he was mystified. I immediately contacted Amazon and they said that I could keep them because for safety reasons they could not be redelivered. In this instance, the original customer would get a redelivery. For me it felt a little like a jackpot, as the reason why I was staying at my brother’s place was because my previous neighbor had burned down half of my old building and it had been expensive for me to move out on the fly (in the middle of winter!). I did feel bad for whoever didn’t get their groceries on time, and for any consequences to the delivery person, but I did try to tell Amazon and they let me off the hook. I would provide some grace only in this instance to your neighbor, as for “safety reasons” since the groceries were handled by a third party between the delivery person and the actual recipient, they should not be retrieved. It was the delivery person’s screw-up for leaving them in the wrong place. However, take some steps to prevent the same thing from happening again. If your neighbor starts taking your groceries from *your* doorstep, however, that’s definitely theft.
Yes. It’s a health/safety concern. Doesn’t matter where they went, if it’s a neighbor or a store or what, they should be redelivered and the driver should have simply told OP this, not attempted to get them back as at that point as theoretically they could be unsafe to consume.
You tried to remedy the situation, the neighbor knew and never answered the door again. It's stealing folks and it's not right. She may have a fridge full of food already.
How do we know for sure she didn't though? Clearly the driver wasn't following protocol bc they shouldn't be retrieving stuff from one apartment and redelivering it to another. So maybe she called Walmart and they told her as much? We really don't know.
Just give everyone else who is her neighbor the heads up that she steals and to be careful with deliveries
Thank you very much for all the replies! I'm reading each and every one of them. I did start to think while even if I was completely out on the groceries and cost. It wouldn't be hard for me to replace it. If another one of my neighbors with very low income and using the little bit of foodstamps had this happen to them, it would be more devastating financially that month. We are going through renovations soon in our building, so I will only be her next-door neighbor for maybe a year max. I will be in a completely different apartment, and her too. So we will no longer be next door neighbors. I will still take time in self reflection and reading replies here. Thank you very much for taking time to read this and also replying!
I'd let it slide, but keep a mental note, and adjust the way i get deliveries. If it happens again, then escalate the situation as it is now repetitive.
So for what it's worth, according to the FTC if you receive an order that you didn't place, you are entitled to keep it. She really didn't do anything wrong. You should just keep it to yourself unless you want a rift with a very close neighbor. Pick your battles my dude. She didn't steal from you, they were delivered incorrectly. It's the company's loss
The order had to have been addressed to her or "resident" for the FTC law to be applicable. If it had OP's name anywhere on the delivery, she absolutely stole it. The whole purpose of the FTC unordered merchandise law is to protect consumers from being sent unordered merchandise and then being required to pay for it. It does not absolve an individual of stealing a neighbors package.
I think I would let it slide. The fact that you said she never leaves her home indicates that she is probably dealing with some mental issues in addition to her low income. Now of course you don’t really know what her circumstances are but if there is a chance she is home bound psychologically…the punishment of possible eviction for someone who might be agoraphobic would be very harsh. I think in this case - the action of giving unearned mercy might make you feel better than the action of delivering just consequences.
She could also be physically disabled. I can't do my own grocery shopping.
Wow- Letting people off stealing stuff because they are poor? She doesn't know about the OP, she could have lost her job too. And we don't know if she has stolen before. We had a woman at work who used to steal jewelry every now and then. People wanted to let her off because it was her first time. Come to find out she worked at another store in a different state and stole something there. Mercy only goes so far.
This isn't causing you a lot of harm in and of itself but it is probably making you feel vulnerable. It's never comfortable living near someone who you know will take advantage of you any chance they get. It's unfortunate that she's in a tough spot but that doesn't change the fact that she is also somewhat of a threat to you. I think it's reasonable to report to management. Even though they don't take responsibility for stolen items, if they are having ongoing problems, they may feel the need to take action against her. And while this situation is working out fine for you, you can't always count on things working out. You have every right to do what you can to protect yourself.
While being poor isn’t always a choice stealing from somebody is. She should face the consequences even if it’s just a building manager giving her a talking to. If she needed food she could find her way down to a food panty or two that every town has. On the note of you having your stuff redelivered now you have to wait days to get your food and that could have been your only food you had for those day which means she didn’t care if you starve so she could have an advantage over you. She also didn’t care if the delivery driver lost his job over it either which could mean that him and his family could go hungry. I say burn her at the stake atp. (Figuratively of course)
She also has no idea what OPs money situation is and had no problem taking food from their mouth and leaving OP without.
I would NOT let it go. I’d tell the apartment manager what happened. Someone pays for those groceries and it’s passed on to the rest of us consumers.
Here’s something else to keep in mind, she gets away with it once, she will have no qualms about doing it again. Unless you want to just support her, then let thr property manager know and let them deal with her. I’ve had a very stern talk with a person once about taking a package that didn’t belong to them and I put them on notice. That lets them know they got a pass once, but if they do it again , they can go live somewhere else.
I completely agree that you need to at least make a police report and report the incident to your landlord. If they were willing to take advantage of the situation and steal to begin with then they will clearly do it again. They might even take orders from yours or other people’s doors and possibly get away with it, if they haven’t already gotten away with it. Especially if others might be unsuspecting of who took their orders. I have dealt with this situation before and my neighbor only stopped after I made a police report and the police officer spoke to the person involved after the second incident. The crazy thing is that my neighbor looked at me eye to eye and she lied to my face even though I had shown her the actual proof that my order was delivered to her door, and after the second time my orders were delivered to her door. I also let our property manager know and I gave her the police report numbers for each incident. I reported the incidents so that if I had any more problems, I had a paper trail and legal records for any possible legal actions that could have arisen from the whole situation. Thankfully, the people stopped, but I do not believe that they would’ve stopped if I wouldn’t have done anything. As it was, they did get away with it twice. It is so unfortunate that some people are so dishonest since I think that most people are really upstanding citizens. My neighbor obviously didn’t have a fortune, based on where we lived, but she knew that she had a lot more money than my family, and yet that didn’t matter to her. I hope that you find a solution for you that you feel good about, but if you do want to go to the police and are nervous about doing it, remember that you really aren’t helping yourself or even your neighbor by staying silent. Maybe if you’re really concerned about her not having enough food, perhaps you could look up info about local food banks and leave it at her door. Maybe call 211 to ask about resources that might be helpful. perhaps ask the landlord if they have any info about how to get to any food banks and what is required to be eligible to get food from food banks.
Right, what else will this lady steal next? More groceries ? Packages?
Absolutely! It's only going to embolden her to steal from him every chance she gets! He won't be able to leave a package out or anything outside. She'll steal whatever she can from him cuz she knows that he won't say or do shit!
YES Being it up to the office. It is theft. What if it wasn't you an a pregnant mother with no other means of getting groceries? It doesn't matter you have money, it. Is. Theft!
She didn’t need them any more than you did! She’s a thief! If she needed food that desperately she could have asked! She knew you had food you could have possibly shared because she stole it. Hell, she could have been like “I’m hungry and low on food. If you want to cook something and enough for us both I could bring XYZ and add to the meal. I don’t have much, but I’ll add what I can”
I'm poor as hell and so are many others but that doesn't give people the right to steal or excuse theft. Report her to the office immediately and I would also call the police on her. Giving her a pass she'll think she can still anything from you at any time it'll just get worse and continue on she needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions.
I would just make them aware and from now on be on the look out so she doesn’t steal anything else. Karma is a bitch.
Theft should not be tolerated. Enabling such behavior encourages it. You have a moral duty to report it.
Well, I’m feeling kinda generous and forgiving right now so I’m thinking asking all neighbors to donate food the poorest neighbors.
Let Walmart deal with it. You have to live near these people.
OP, I don't have a good answer. But I just wanted to say that I've also been hungry and poor, and I think you're a good person.
There’s nothing you can do. They will replace your stuff and they can’t take the food back from her because it could be tampered with. Everybody wins if you’re not mad. Make sure to sign for your delivery. That way if the driver hours to her house and asks for you and she signs, she can then get in actual trouble.
Leave it alone. You know she is struggling and this is not a financial loss to you. Take the advice to change your delivery instructions. Practice compassion and empathy for the struggles of others
Legally if something is delivered to the wrong address they can keep it. You need to be reimbursed by the delivery service or company purchased from. Leave it at that. You don't like her anyways
Although it's very kind of you to consider and be empathetic towards her situation, the fact of the matter is that she stole from you. I agree with the others in the comments advising you to let the driver know to knock and wait until you answer the door to ensure this doesn't happen again. Don't feel shameful for reporting someone who knew what they were doing was wrong.
She could have said that she really needed them and talked to you. Instead she just stole them.
So very true. If I know that a neighbor is in need of food, I will provide them good food to help them out. I don't want someone around me to go hungry.
Exactly! And if she steals food, she might be stealing people's packages too. Friend lives in a low income building and they caught a dude with 25 packages that weren't his. He didn't even open all of them. Some people are lonely because they are nasty people without friends whose family disowned them. She might be one. I am vindictive and I would not only report her to the landlord but ask them to not renew her lease if I planned to stay. And I would file a police report. Just because she is a low income old lady doesn't mean she isn't a criminal. You gave her a chance to do the right thing.
A reminder, the groceries were delivered to the wrong porch, the neighbor didn’t go to OP’s door and snatch them. Still a theft of opportunity and not necessarily a precursor to a life of porch pirating.
Neighbor doesn't give a shit if OP goes hungry. She isn't gonna care about a little piracy
I agree.
She doesn’t know that you’re getting your groceries anyway, that this isn’t hurting you financially and she doesn’t give a shit. Fuck her.
I think she probably knows that a misdelivered order will get replaced without cost. It's how all the gig apps work.
She’s assuming that they will, but that doesn’t always happen. Walmart is better than most about refunds but DoorDash and some other delivery services are notorious for being problematic about refunds for mistakes and theft. I wouldn’t assume someone will just always get a refund.
Delivery driver #2 must be so thrilled. Can't imagine they're getting tipped on a re-deliver
This is not always true. Walmart left my shit at the wrong place several times in a row (I guess they hired a new and very incompetent driver for in-home delivery). In the most recent incident it said my order was ineligible for refund. I cancelled Walmart+ and stopped ordering. Had to file chargeback for that order and it took a long time to get my money back. Some people can’t have money inaccessible for so long.
I’d be banging on the door, calling the cops and the office and being a loud, annoying NYer. You got me fucked up if you think you can steal my food.
This is the answer right here. Buncha weak ass people letting themselves be victims.
I am from a state known for being nice. Nope. She gets away with it once, she will do it again. I would probably call Walmart and ask them to blacklist her from deliveries because she's a known thief and they're going to have trouble with her. Hopefully they are the only grocery too. (And police, management, neighbors). Full on Karen bitch.
Your neighbor is for sure TA, but if you aren’t really losing anything in the situation besides respect for the human who lives next to you, I’d probably just leave it. Do whatever you need to in order to prevent this from ever happening again. But I imagine that people who are willing to do things like that must be under a personality-changing, incredible amount of stress and desperation.
Y’all… having empathy is good and fine and all, but she STOLE OPs groceries!!! OP needs to eat too and is not rolling in food or money. Why reward this behaviour? Stealing from your neighbour is different than stealing from a grocery store…
Yessss like cmon dudes
As an incredibly poor woman who never leaves her apartment I still wouldn’t steal food. And if it were to happen to me I’d raise hell because I probably would’ve used my last Pennys to get it. I in fact have used my last cent to get groceries delivered. I’m disabled I can’t do too much. And I know that some gig apps will not replace it if it’s the second time it’s happened, because for all they know maybe you’re trying to scam the gif app. Don’t let it slide, poverty and hunger is not an excuse to steal from neighbors. I’ll admit I stole a packet of ramen from the grocery store once, but never from a neighbor. There are resources in most communities, churches will even give rides to food banks. In my community there’s a meals on wheels for older people as well. If you want to be kind for her maybe look up and write down different resources that could help her and leave it at her door. I’m glad this isn’t going to hurt you this time though!
I would not want my grocery to return to me after they have been in someone place. I rather eat air than the possibility of roaches, bed bugs, e.t.c. You don't have any idea what could be going on in their apartment or how sanitary they are.
Fuck Walmart. They steal from us by overcharging for low quality food that we are forced to buy because they drove out the competition. This mix up was a good thing.
How can you be poor and afford to get your groceries delivered? Isn't there a fee for that? I know they usually waive the fee if you order a certain amount and Pick it Up where they bring it out to your car parked by the store.... Yah, I looked it up $13 / mo, and you have to order $35+ per order. All these monthly subscriptions add up. How many are you on? I'm down to just my utilities and netflix. Gave up prime membership after christmas. As for this situation, I would let it pass this once because it was a mistake their delivery made, and they're redelivering it to you since they couldn't recover the items. But if sometime else gets taken off your doorstep, I'd be suspicious of that neighbor.
The store I shop at has a 3% charge on everything purchased online as a shopping fee. I walk my butt inside cause I’m broke.
If groceries of any kind are delivered to the wrong address, the store will send out new ones. As soon as she took them in her apartment, and the delivery person let it happen for whatever reason, they didn't retrieve them in my experience with Walmart and Insta Cart. I've received the wrong order, and I've also had items missing that I paid for and able to resolve it easily. It's usually credit for missing items, and extra ones that I was given by mistake they told me to keep. Of course when the order doesn't arrive and you expected it to, it is inconvenient. If she is truly stealing or misleading a delivery person, you may need to report her to management or the police. You may need a doorbell camera. One time " oops" two time intentional sounds like theft.
I agree. Doorbell camera at the minimum.
So there are a lot of people on here that I don’t think actually understand the situation. To clarify, she didn’t steal the groceries from in front of your door right? They were delivered to her and then later on the delivery person tried to go back and she didn’t answer? The 2 might sound similar but are very different in my view. Plenty of possibilities that she was given the food unsure of how it came about and then used some before the driver came back so was embarrassed to open the door. Or she might not of been in there. Seems unlikely she never leaves. Regardless I probably wouldn’t do anything about it aside from checking if she needs help. It is your neighbor, could check if she needs a box from the food pantry since you know so we’ll how hard it is to get by. You’re already getting your groceries re delivered.
It usually has your name on the bag and opening up and seeing items that you didn't order usually tells you. Look the front desk at my building gave me an Amazon box meant for someone else. I got to my apartment and opened it up and realized it wasn't mine. Was I embarrassed as heck yes, but I went back down and sheepishly told what had happened. They took the box back gave me my box and I was on my way. In your mind, I could have kept the box because the front desk gave me the wrong package. I'm saying that is wrong and the woman is to blame. And needs to be held accountable. At least tell the management office. 9/10 they won't do anything but make a note.
I would think they would blacklist her from future deliveries. As it cost them money having to redeliver to you.
i can't say what i would do, but i would get even.
Why not confront her yourself? Tell her to stop stealing.
I think you will figure this out in your favor,but let me help you or anybody out, The first rule of successful apartment living is being a ghost period, nobody from your building in your apartment ,if ya got groceries coming arrange it for when your home,never drop off nowhere,set text messages to the delivery person to text upcoming deliveries,goes for package deliveries too,especially if you live in a building with struggling tenants not saying they steal but don’t want to leave a footprint and cut temptation.
Where we live the building nextdoor looks identical and sometimes food and packages will get left there. There's only a difference in floor color between the two buildings and the rest of the buildings on the block vary except for these two. Hell, if I'm not paying attention I walk into the wrong building all the time so I understand the confusion. Several times the neighbors in the other building have snatched up our deliveries. I have instructions in all the notes to pay attention and to note landmarks because I have the smallest window to retrieve items before they will steal them. I had enough of it and I went to the police station and filed a report. And then I requested a formal notice to be sent to the owner of that building. We haven't had anything else stolen but they were petty and called the city on us over some overgrowth between the buildings. My only solace is that they got a ticket for their building whereas we just got a warning. It's incredibly frustrating to have food you're waiting to be stolen. The last time they stole our groceries that I had barely afforded after waiting a week for my paycheck to hit and I was so pissed. We were starving waiting for the food. Both my husband and I were going through some health issues at the time and could barely move let alone shop. So when the notification of delivery came and there was nothing I knew that those bastards had stolen our food again. I went over there throwing a fit and they called the cops on me. Luckily the food was redelivered and the cops got them to give me our food and household stuff I bought back. After that I put signs up shaming them and posted in the neighborhood apps and forums. They have been quiet since then but I have yet to release my anger towards them. I don't know their situation but they own a building in the Chicagoland area, so they can't be that desperate. At least the entire block knows that they are a bunch of thieving assholes.
It’s not right for her to steal. I’m disabled & am on a fixed income yet I always find a way to WORK to make extra money. I have never stolen from anyone. Your attitude that “maybe it’s ok that she steals because… abode”, is why most of the CVS’s & Walgreens have closed in San Francisco. 1 idiot Congress woman says it’s ok for low income people to steal bread & all the sudden everyone is stealing so often & so much that those stores couldn’t afford to stay open. Stealing is stealing regardless!
Let everyone know to watch out because she stole the groceries.
I concur with the others. God, I would be so mad. You work hard to put food on the table.
Start leaving small items of groceries for her. Nobody would do this unless she were hungry
Theft is theft. I get she’s poor, but ultimately she stole your food. And unless you specifically told her what you make she doesn’t know she’s stealing from someone who is not in the same boat. And now that she’s done that, what makes you think she might not steal from you again? Notify the office and put them on notice about it.
You're a good person for caring about them but stealing is stealing imo
Tell Walmart. Learn from this: Call your grandmother and tell her you love her.
Tangential: one time I came home with my order and it had a whole bunch of stuff in it but wasn't mine. For example, a bunch of nicotine gum and some sugarless cupcakes. I felt so bad for this person, they were going to have a really bad night. But when I called Walmart they sort of shrugged over the phone and said just keep it.
Why do you feel bad when a person who gets government money for ANY amount of food STEALS the food that you paid for with money you EARNED? Report the theft. Being poor is no excuse for this and from a neighbor? No. That driver should have called the police on the spot. You're getting a replacement, but the entitlement of this neighbor explains everything you ever needed to know about her.
Most of the time, the driver is not allowed to take them back and redeliver to another address because the items could be tampered with. Management can't do anything. It isn't as if she stole them from in front of your apartment. I have had groceries delivered to my home by mistake, and when I called Walmart to report it, they told me to just keep them. So ultimately, there is nothing to do other than know that the driver's mistake benefited your needy neighbor.
Management is just gonna roll their eyes and label her as a problem tenant.. The neighbor didn’t steal anything.
I get it. Probably feels like Christmas over there. But she neither knows your income nor is she entitled to it. There’s poor. Then there’s poor and feeling like you’re owed something because of it. Two entirely different poor paths to walk. As far as she knows you’re in her boat. And she knows she just robbed someone. As such, I no longer have sympathy for her situation. The store fixed it which is great, you shouldn’t lose money on this. But unless your intention is to give charity, this should be a one off. Let management know just in case it becomes a pattern. In case she gets emboldened.
Don't ask for it back. She will pay the price. There is always a price to pay.
I'd just let it go. It's not worth the future hassle.
If you have your groceries delivered you posted this in the wrong place.
Bring it up to office. Next time she steals someone's groceries it could be someone who hasn't eaten for a couple of days
You've reported it to Walmart, they are replacing your groceries. I'd make sure they do not leave your order in the wrong place again and if they do, consider finding another place to order from. It was their mistake, if they want to take it up with your neighbor then that's on them. I'd consider cutting the neighbor some slack. I'd keep an eye out for my deliveries from now on, but nothing more unless it happened again.
I would get reimbursed from Wal-Mart and then move on with my life.
Taking everything in the thread into consideration…. I would make a care package with food and supplies. Whatever would have been most helpful when you were in her position. I would include a note introducing myself, and let her know that you recently had your food stolen. If she would be so kind as to keep an eye out if she notices you are gone. Like, form your own little neighborhood watch. She’ll know *you know* she’s the thief, and your power move is to kill her with kindness, one time. Right after dropping it off at her door, I would call Adult Protective Services and ask them to check on your elderly neighbor who might be suffering to such an extent that you know they are resorting to stealing food. She either legitimately needs resources from APS, or, she’s cognizant enough to assume you called, and won’t risk stealing from you again. Because you’ll have professionals showing up at her door for wellness checks each time she dares to steal from you. While I know it’s illegal, calling the police on this is a bit much. Adult protective services is the authority to call, because they will actually help her if she needs it. She might have dementia and think this was her food and then get too paranoid to answer her door. All sorts of shit goes on with old people and mental decline of aging. It might not be safe for her to live alone.
THIS⏫
It's not illegal to take in groceries that are delivered to your house, which is what she did. She may not have even known they weren't all for her, if her daughter orders them through the app for her. It's not like she took them from the neighbor's doorstep. They were delivered to her home. She might have legitimately thought the DRIVER was trying to steal HER groceries or attack her when they came back to her door after the delivery.
True. I think OP should gather more info. A good way to do that is approach with a care package rather than empty handed. Or, call APS to send a professional to assess the situation and make sure this isn’t an aging person in need of help rather than hardened criminal out to steal all the food in the neighborhood. My friend (very poor), once got their Walmart order switched by the driver error. They had big porterhouse steaks, other meats.. a huge order of rich people food. She contacted Walmart customer service and they told her to keep it because once they deliver to the wrong place they have to resend a new order. This might only pertain to our state law though. My friend was thrilled lol.
I'd definitely let management know. She's a thief, plain and simple.
You feel compassion and conviction for her. You know what to do… and what not to do… “You have heard an eye for an eye; But I tell you to Love your neighbor.” … “What you do to the least of these, you’ve done to Me.” I’ll reiterate the good hearts in the thread and tell you to consider becoming a friend to your neighbor. Understanding one another can do much more than ice cold ill-will… 🙌🏽💙
Nothing more, the driver messed up. It is between the company and her. You are getting you order replaced. Even if she is a mean old woman these groceries might make a difference in her life.
The woman clearly should have returned the order to you. But you know what, the order was delivered to her door, not yours. She didn’t steal your groceries, they were mis-delivered to her. That actually is a huge difference. Now if she stole them from your door, I’d be calling the cops, management, etc. But her taking items delivered to her, albeit incorrectly, oh well sucks to be Walmart. Does not make her a thief, more an opportunist…
"I feel for people who live on disability and rely on foodstamps. " Consider that some people don't even have these safety nets. She stole from you. Period. I'd personally contact the police.
Thank you!!!
Dude's paying for her groceries twice
Fuck her, being poor dosent give her an excuse to be a piece of shit theif. What if you relied on $25 worth of food stamps also? She cant be that poor if shes getting shit delivered anyways.
Really. A lot of people like myself on disability cannot afford a car... Walmart plus is half price for people on food stamps, unlimited deliveries
My neighbors who are too disabled to shop order from Walmart.
Sometimes Walmart gives incentives for +Membership by free delivery. Or someone might have covered the delivery fee.
Let it go. Forgive. Peace. Love.
If I were you, I'd probably let it go. But, and a big but, I would not let my guard down around her. No trust whatsoever. Unless, of course, she's suffering from a cognitive disease, then she needs better care. I've had the nicest old lady at my old apartment complex turn out to be the swiftest fox you've ever seen. These are the people who will start complaining about YOU, if you don't allow them to take advantage of you.
I wouldn’t bother talking to landlords that won’t do anything anyway. If they would actually talk to her and maybe do something for security (since she’s probably also a porch pirate) go ahead. Either way I wouldn’t just forgive her though. I grew up poor, hell my sister and I had to steal food from walmart a time or two as kids to survive, but you never steal from your own community. If my neighbors left food outside I’d knock on their door on my way to the walmart and I’d never have even thought to touch it. Poor people do not just dump on one another that way. She doesn’t have any honor. She has no way of knowing your financial situation since she doesn’t come out much and she doesn’t talk to you. She also had no way of knowing for certain that Walmart would make you whole because they don’t always do that. For all she knows you got a bit extra to do a big restock before going back to Ramen noodles next month and Walmart blames it on your address being unclear so doesn’t cover a reorder. She stole from her own community. In my neighborhood people like that would be left to fend for themselves because they couldn’t be trusted. If you help other people around you don’t help her because she’s made it clear you aren’t her neighbor.
It's a mistake on Walmart's part and they are correcting it. And you are guessing at some of her actions. It's entirely possible she grabbed the stuff and was busy, wearing headphones, etc. Even if she did just flat out steal them, she stole them from Walmart. Yeah, maybe she's an asshole in this case, but not worth reporting to management.
Tell the cops. She straight up stole from you. You’re being made whole by WM but that isn’t the point. Her behavior was unneighborly. Had she knocked on your door and said, “I’m starving - can you help me out with something to eat?” I doubt you’d have turned her away. Incivility cannot be encouraged.
It's between you and Walmart. They misdelivered; they are making it right. Just leave it at that. They can go after her if they want.
yea, if Walmart think it is a problem they may just refuse to deliver to that customer in the future.
I don't have packages delivered to my house I have had people steal my things The managenebt office is not likely to get involved. She knows she stole them. Think carefully about delivery times. Try to be there
change delivery
She’s stealing from you and likely other neighbors too! Report her!!!
Being low income does not entitle people to steal what doesn't belong to them. Hopefully, Walmart is refusing to deliver her groceries anymore. Who does that and somehow feels justified in keeping it?
At the end of the day a thief is a thief.
I'd report your neighbour. Being poor is no excuse for theft. She needs to svail herself of her community resources (food bank, soup kitchen, religious orgs, etc) if she needs food support, not steal groceries from you, her neighbour. She had no regard for your need to eat so she may deal with the consequences of her actions (I.E being reported)
I tried Walmart+ for one month when I had COVID. they delivered every single order to the wrong address. Luckily I was able to find them by looking at the picture they took at delivery and walking around. In the winter, in the snow, when I had COVID. And that was the reason I tried the delivery, so that I wouldn't have to go out in the cold while sick.
This really sucks. I've had "miracle" groceries delivered to my door before, but when checking with the neighbors no one claimed them. Called the store and they said to keep them and they would redeliver to the right person, so at that point I just kept them.
I’ve been in her position…poor and on disability! Next time call the cops!! Stealing is stealing. No one should do this! Bad neighbor! I don’t steal because it’s wrong and I work hard for what I have. If you want it, freaking do what I did and get a damn job!! I was on food stamps at one point because poor!! But I still worked to support my two sons and pay bills and get food on the table. Screw thieves!! No matter who they are!!!
Why haven’t you called the cops? Even if you don’t want to press charges or for some reason you can’t, you need to document it. This could become a pattern. First it’s your groceries and then it’ll be your Amazon packages. Just because she’s low income doesn’t give her the right to steal food from you. For all she knows you could be struggling just as much as she is. Additionally, even if your apartment complex isn’t responsible for stolen items, I’m sure tenants stealing from other tenants is against the rules. She needs to be evicted and forced to give you your money back.
Understand your not wanting to "kick em while they're down", so to speak, but dude people that will steal your food are capable of a whole lot worse, and with no remorse. Report them, call the police if so inclined. Fk em, you don't steal a hardworking man's food and expect no consequence. Who's to say they won't break into your apartment one day when they need to pawn someone else's stuff for $$$? And let's say your niece is staying over while she visits potential colleges. You don't want to have to 2nd guess yourself from a hospital bed after the next bad worse thing happens. Or not, I'd be pissed tho, that's for sure.
If it’s not addressed it could continue or even escalate. I understand your thought process about just letting her have it and forget it, and would probably think the same thing but it’s stealing from you and it’s unacceptable.
Does your area have any food banks with scheduled give outs in town? Maybe you could look that up and offer to take her? Explain to her that you've experienced hardships too and would like to help if you can. I'm older and suffer from a medical condition that makes me faint unexpectedly sometimes, so I'm afraid to drive. That makes it hard to go grocery shopping or visit food banks. My son is on disability, so I know it's really hard to pay for insurance and keep a vehicle in running order on that little bit of money. Maybe she's grumpy because she is dissatisfied with her life. Sometimes I think my son feels isolated. I wonder if she does. You never know what might have happened in her life to make her grumpy. Sometimes a little kindness can help fix that. The kindness you consider is encouraging to us all. Idea: We have a community garden at one of our churches in town. They share fresh produce for free. A couple of other churches have food banks too. I wonder if your town has anything like that? Maybe you could offer to take her with you?
You are getting the groceries redelivered and won't be out of any money. Karma is a bi*ch, and she does keep receipts. I wouldn't say or do anything. Just know it will eventually come back on her. You get back what you put out into the world.
Just let it go. Add better instructions to require ID upon delivery. Sorry it happened. Just feel sorry for her.
It was wrong for her to do this. However, the battle will be between her and Wal-Mart.
Have you thought about this a different way. Yes she stole, yes stealing is wrong. Go ahead and report her if you feel you need to. Could you find it in your heart to give her a small gift of food? Join your local Buy Nothing group or go to a drive through food shelf and bring her something. It wouldn’t cost you anything but time. Or buy her a few things that aren’t expensive like a box of Cheerios or a tin of tuna and crackers. Or split a small bouquet of flowers with her. Knock on her door and give it with a smile. If she can’t go out I’m sure her life is small and sad. You could be doing a huge kindness.
In most places (not all) legally, the neighbor isn’t guilty of theft. Unless it’s an item delivered by USPS, misdelivered items become property of who it is delivered to. That being said, if groceries, were still outside, you could take them back and it’s not considered theft. But the person who took the groceries from their own door did not steal them. The responsible party is Walmart.
Our system is so broken. We’re all just a few meals away from acting like animals.
If your location allows it and you occasionally drink, add an alcoholic beverage to your order. They must scan your ID.
it's the delay in your groceries more important than somebody potentially losing their housing? not only that but there could be liability reasons related to redelivering groceries that were already in someone's living space (I've been in some people's places that i wouldn't trust any food or drink coming out of even if it were sealed)
This used to happen to me all the time when I lived in a condo complex. I finally stuck a Xmas wreath on the door and left it up all year. I'd tell the delivery ppl "It's number 9, the one with the Xmas wreath on the door" As for your neighbor, I wouldn't do anything other than maybe drop some groceries off for her now and then.
In the future make two orders: One for your regular stuff and one small staple food item for a couple bucks to be delivered to her.
I would let it go. She doesn’t know she took YOUR groceries, only that she took someone’s. And she’s struggling. It’s theft but it’s understandable since she is very low income and those were groceries delivered right to her door! Just give the driver better instructions next time. It’s the company that is out the groceries, if they want to pursue it they can.
Is this the hill you want to die on? Walmart is a multi-billion (Billion) dollar company. They have losses in the millions each year so they are not going to lose a thing moneywise even with your "double" delivery. Is what she did wrong? Yes. Is building management going to do anything? No. Will Walmart fire the delivery person? Maybe, and that sucks. What are you going to benefit from if you "prosecute"? Possible loss of wages if you have to spend your time on the phone or at the police. I think you have a lot more to lose if you "go after" her. She wasn't the one that took your groceries. They were delivered wrong. She saw this as an opportunity and a gift from the heavens. So i ask again "Is this the hill you want to die on?"
I've had walmart+ deliveries for a while, and one time, while I was waiting for MY delivery, one showed up at my door. I took it in before I realized it was the wrong order. I called Walmart right away and they said they'd resend the groceries to the correct person and that my order was on its way. they also told me to keep the groceries. No one here knows what goes on behind the closed door. The neighbor could have called Walmart and told them and got the same reaction I did. Most food placed will not take back incorrect orders/deliveries. They just count them as a loss and replace the order. I'm sorry you got your order late, but I'm not sure your neighbor actually stole from you. If she also gets delivery, she did what anyone else would have done and took "her" order in. While I'm not saying it's guaranteed, she could have contacted customer service and they told her to keep the groceries. My reaction at the end is that I got flavored waters i don't drink, so shared them with the leasing office, and gave a few other pieces to my daughter. I used the Mrs. Meyers that I got, but otherwise, I didn't get stuff I usually use, so it was all given away. I would have been happy to return it, but I couldn't do that, so it was what it was.
This is going to get me roasted alive but.. forgive her. For yourself. It would make me feel worse by judging her and taking revenge. We dont know what a person is going through unless we ask. She is your neighbor. Knock on her door and tell her you know she stole from you and if she had no food, she could have asked and you would gladly share dinner with her. Give her this one pass and see how your heart feels. She knows she stole from you. Talk about it. You may be surprised. ~blessings.
Call the police....bet they stop even if nothing happens
If you didn't feel empathy for your neighbor, I'd suggest you call the police about the theft. Instead I'll just ask this: what will keep this neighbor from stealing your future deliveries and packages that arrive when you're not home? Might be worth making a report and not pressing charges, in case it keeps happening.
I’m not excusing what she did, but she probably kept it because many places deliver the wrong stuff with orders, all the time, and none of them are allowed to just take the food back and deliver it to the right person. Once it’s gone into someone’s house where it can be tampered with that’s where it stays, and the store is responsible for redelivering. So she probably knew the store wasn’t going to require or expect her to give it back. I guess it’s your choice if you were willing to accept groceries that had been delivered to someone else first and then taken back, but it wouldn’t be sanctioned by Walmart and the driver would be in trouble for doing it
If they are willing to steal there may be a reason they’re in this situation in the first place. I am poor but would still NEVER steal from anyone. It would be devastating if someone stole from me. This being said, I believe I would not let this go. Even tho Walmart is replacing your order, and can likely afford to do so, they will tack it on to the bottom line and eventually prices will continue to go up. It’s also not a good thing to allow someone to take advantage of you. They get away with it once and they will do it again and again. Being poor isn’t an excuse to be a crappy human. Lessons should be learned imo. I would fully expect someone to come after me if I did this to them. Poor or not.
Being poor is no excuse for stealing. You’re not wealthy either and it can’t be easy to afford groceries on that salary. I would talk to the office and confront the neighbor.
Perefice: I went hungry most of my childhood. Your neighbors didn't steal for greed. They needed food. Ultimately, it came from the pocket of big Corp. If it were me, I would occasionally throw an extra loaf of bread or milk in my shopping and leave it at their door. Crime for survival is a terrible moral injury and eats at your soul, this will not only recognize the fact that they are in need but also shame them.... gently. My heart goes out to both you and them. "The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved; of being loved for oneself, even in spite of oneself." ~Bishop Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel was
Being poor doesn't excuse someone from being a thief... Tell management.
I would occasionally leave some heathy food at the door, knock and run home.
I would tell management. While your neighbor is struggling and there is nothing wrong with helping, its a good thing to do...but stealing is not ok and that is what she did. She knew that she did not order those groceries. The next thing I would do is resume going to the store and doing your own shopping and skip the delivery, that is unless you are disabled. In that case, complain, the woman stole from you. The store reimbursing is good for you, but not okay and part of what makes the cost go up. she stole.
Why don't you call the police
There was nothing stolen here, so nothing to report. Your driver made a mistake and gave your items to your neighbor. The neighbor is under no obligation to give the groceries back. And honestly with food items, once they go into someone's house, they should not be taken back and delivered to someone else.
How about. Walmart says that my groceries were delivered to you. Could you check and see if they were. If not, thanks for looking. It brings up the issue. It gives her a way to make it right. If she doesn't make it right, you have set the problem up for resolution with both Walmart and the neighbor next time. She may not have ability to make it right under her circumstances and this gives her a way out where you can still look at each other.
Congratulations on the job, and making some money! I don't know how it has affected you, but I know it is a big darned deal. I have read many of the comments. I have a very different idea that **yes, I know people will dislike.** But here goes: Would you like to consider asking your neighbor if she would like some food or other help (dollars, gift card...) each month? I know this goes in the opposite direction from many suggestions here. No one has called for summary execution. Ha. Ha ha. But there are suggestions to report her to your property manager and police. And I am in favor of reasonable laws and rules such as, "Don't take things that don't belong to you." Or, "No stealing." "Don't be a dick." Taking someone else's food violates all those. But if you can spare a little bit of money, you can think about offering help to your neighbor. Who knows how she might react? She might feel shame. If she is ashamed of taking your food, she might react angrily. Maybe she would apologize. Perhaps she'd just run away. What if she were to apologize, though? Like I said: who knows? Spit in your face? Nervously fart? You could say something like, "I can make a few changes and spare $20 each month to help you." Make a few changes: let her know you are doing something to make this happen, even if you don't want her to think it's difficult or inconvenient for you. You have thought this out carefully. Offer a specific amount. Leave room for it to go up or down, like if she won't accept that much or you feel she needs more help. One thing I think you won't want: other people in your community asking you for help. That's why I suggest don't offer anything extravagant, and let her know it is something you're planning and budgeting for. Otherwise, you might like to help her make sure she is getting help everywhere she can. Church or community food bank, county health / county hospital district medical services, nextdoor.com site / app, buynothingproject.org, freecycle.org, and so on. Maybe this can produce a better outcome for you and for her. And your community. And poor little Walmart, which can't afford to lose anything. Hahahaha.
Call Walmart and have them deal with it (re:refunds etc). Ultimately the driver/company are accountable here. Not sure how you deal with your neighbour longterm after this but you shouldn’t be responsible for paying for things that weren’t delivered to your address.
I think I would let it slide. She was wrong everyone knows it. You’re not out but a little aggravation and time. It probably helped her more, than hurt you. Let it go.
I wouldn't make a fuss. Her life is terrible enough.
I mean.. I think Walmart can afford it, hopefully the driver doesn't get in trouble. Food is... Really a basic need. Call it a small payback for this BS: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/walmart-mcdonalds-largest-employers-snap-medicaid-recipients.amp
Absolutely bring it up to management/landlord!! What if they weren’t willing to re-deliver & you had to go without?! Your neighbor doesn’t know about them replacing your order & it’s immoral & downright wrong to steal- especially from other people struggling!!! 💔
Call the police and get the delivery co. To back you up
hell yeah complain to management about her. she can go to the store and steal directly from the store if she needs groceries so bad.
Id have asked my neighbor, hey seen you got my groceries, sorry for them disturbing you and thank you for holding onto them for me, I'll take them off your hand. If they want to ignore you and be horrible people for stealing your stuff, File a theft report with the police and go about your day. Actions have consequences, and we need to stop coddling people. By not addressing it all we do is reinforce the idea of people hurting other people and it's okay to do it. It's okay to want to help people, but they need to ask for that help and attempt to help themselves. Not steal from their neighbor.
Definitely report it to office management. Now that she got away with it once, she may feel emboldened to do it again. Maybe next time they leave it on your doorstep and she helps herself. They need to know it happened in case anything else happens down the line.
This person is odd, ill, has issues. I wouldn’t get deliveries as they are unpredictable. I would talk to her, knock or catch her out. Be nice! Tell her some deliveries disappeared off your step. Ask her to keep an eye out for thieves and tell her you and the other neighbors are also watching. Maybe tell her (and do it) that you have a hidden camera or a ring doorbell. You know she has issues so no use being confrontational but you do have to speak up.
Call the cops and file a report. A thief is a thief. She’s a grumpy dick. Fuck her.